Dance, Ballerina, Dance!!!

Dad and Mom lived in the Golden Age of Music and Radio. Duke Ellington was the "In" music of the 30's, and the big bands, Benny Goodman, Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey. George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, their work just poured out of them. In 1935, George Gershwin wrote the first American Folk Opera, 'Porgy & Bess.' By 1939, 80% of Americans owned a radio. For some reason, they called them 'radio sets.'

It was an uproarious time for comedians like Fred Allen, George Burns & Gracie Allen, Amos and Andy to name a few. The radio is actutally the media that started soap operas in day time hours like 'Our Gal Sunday, The Lone Ranger, Green Hornet and the infamous "The Shadow." Radio was also responsible for news broadcasts with such greats as Edward R. Murrow and H.V. Kaltenborn. Our president, Franklin Rosevelt, also used this media for political gain with his "Fireside Chats" every week.

One of the most dramatic moments in radio history was May 6, 1937, when a young Herb Morrison was eye witness to the German Air Ship Hindenburg bursting into flames while attempting to land in Lakehurst, New Jersey. The terror in his voice chills to this day. But by far, the most famous incident in radio, was Oct. 30, 1936. A young actor by the name of Orson Welles, from Mercury Theatre, broadcast a story called 'War of the Worlds.' He paniced millions of listeners that nite and did not have the disclaimer explain it was just a story until the end of the broadcast. He apologized for this event for several years.

Mom and Dad lived in the Golden Age of Hollywood. In the 1930's depression era, audiences were looking for an escape from every day drudgeries of life intto the lavish sets and stories of the Golden Screen. Women swooned over Clark Gable, Errol Flynn and Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers entralled audiences with their beautiful dancing and songs. Bob Hope and the Marx Brothers made them laugh, and of course we have to mention the incomparable Shirley Temple. Oh, and the largest money making movie until that time, 'Gone With the Wind', 1939.Did you know that Walt Disney created 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarf's in 1939. The man was a genius and far ahead of his time.

George and Ira Gershwin wrote 6 musicals in the 1930's, one of which won a Pulitzer Prize for drama, it was "Of Thee I Sing." It was the longest running musical of the 30's. Also, 'Porggy and Bess", with some of the most beautiful music........Summertime........Old Man River. Did I mention that this was the first American Folk Operetta written?

So, my parents lived through 'Black Tuesday', Oct. 29, 1929, start of the depression which lasted into 1939. The whole world was watching and looking to see if Democracy would survive after this crushing blow. Well............it did. We're still here.........Mousselini, Stalin, Hitler......They survived it all, but now the stage was set for WWII.

In honor of my nephew, John DiMontova, finding my blog, I want to tell you a little about your father. Your father was the kindest, gentlest person. He had a big heart and loved his family. I mean you kids and your mom. He also loved his mom and dad and siblings too. He moved to New Jersey with Sandy and bought that pretty house and you all moved in including your other grandma, I'm sorry, I can't remember her name. But as I remember, your dad built a patio in the back of the house, cement? My mom was there helping, ha. She cooked, that's how she helped everyone. Of course when you excell at something.......The last time I saw you two was at Christmas time when you were about 5 and 7. Beautiful children. I think it was just after that I got married, in any event, it was 1966. Moved to Ohio with my husband, had a daughter Chery and Son Christopher in 1969 and 1974 respectively. You also have 6 cousins in Florida or near proximity.

As a little girl I remember my brother Ted. Very quiet, very handsome. Being the last of 6 children, I didn't get a lot of chances to talk, but Ted always made sure he listened to me. He was 9 years older than me, but I remember how hard he worked on the farm helping my father. THey would get up a 5am, go milk the cows, feed them, clean the barn, and by 8am come in for breakfast. Ted would eat a dozen eggs with a loaf of Italian bread, half pound of bacon, milk, coffee, juice. All our appetites were enormous on the farm. Ted always looked up to Dick, although I'm sorry to say, he was not always the best example. When we moved back to Astoria, shortly there after, Ted was drafted into the Army. We were all very sad. I missed him and so did Mom and Dad.

I will continue tomorrow....................really tired.

Tinker, Tailor, Indian Chief!

As I mentioned before, Daddy left home at an early age, not finding any love or family ties in his father's household with his 2nd wife. She truly treated him badly, worse than you could imagine a stepson would be treated. So at 14 years old he struck off on his own. He found a jeweler who apprenticed him with gold, gems, and repairing watches. Back then, a watch was something of value and usually made of gold and fine movements. So Daddy worked at that and than decided to try tailoring apprenticship. That did noting for him. Than he worked in the Brooklyn shipyards, welding ships, which he did again during WWII. That's another story.

But I'm getting ahead of myself again. Let me go back and tell you a story about Mom and Dad when they made their First Holy Communion. They were about 8 years old and now that I remember it, grandfather DiMasi and grandfather DiMantova were what they called Cumbas. (Not sure of the spelling, but phonetically, that's how it sounded.) They weren't related, but were friends in Italy and in the US. The church was St. Mary's, a beautiful 'Old World' church, arcitechturally, in Long Island City. It's still there. I visited it in 1992 before I came back to Florida. I could just imagine Mom and Dad making their 1st communion, dad in a navy blue suit, white shirt and tie, and mom in a beautiful lacy white dress with a long viel and flowery head piece. This is also the church they were married in.

There was a party afterwards with lots of Italian delicassies and of course the infamous Rum Cake I imagine. It was their tradition to give money to the communicants, and Mom got more money than Dad, and Dad was so angry he bit her. And so the love story begins.

Mom was a tender 17 and Dad around 18 when they married. It was the 1930's and the economy was improving. The music of the age was incredible. Jeanette McDonald, Nelson Eddie were the Darlings of the screen, singing in the rich story filled movies. Nelson Eddie, a Canadian Mounty, Jeanette McDonald the damsal in distress. And of course there were the silent pictures with W.C. Fields, Gene Marlowe, the first 'blonde bombschell', and a slew of others. All the Great talents, Oscar Wilde, Rogers & Hammerstein, and of corse, the Italian sensation, Caruso, who was a personal Cumba of my father's. Daddy used to go to the recording studio and watch him record records on what he said look like wax discs that would peel as the record went around. Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Ziggfield Follies, Fanny Brice, Charlie Chaplin who was a genius with silent films, Bing Crosby. Mom and Dad loved the Theatre and would see every play and movie they could. They were a stunning couple, and at last Daddy had a home. They were happy and secure in each other. And the children started to come. Daddy was so tickled.

THe first born, Dominic Anthony DiMontova. Daddy was so pround and Mom was radiant. I know this because I saw the pictures. Christopher looks so much like my Dad, minus the beautiful cleft chin. But Dick had the chin, also cream colored eyes and blonde hair. Then a year later, Eleanor. Gorgeous child that looked just like grandmother Isabella, raven hair, alabaster skin and full lips, high cheek bones, beautifully classic. Then Theodore DiMontova, Jr. He was gorgeous. Olive skin, dark hair and piercing dark brown eyes. My girl friends used to drool over him. Then Esther! She is a book in herself. What a beautiful child. She was tiny, 4'10" but just perfect. She looked very much like Eleanor, but she was a brunette and not as lite skinned. As a child, she had rickets, which is a breast bone disease, which Mom doated and nursed her constantly and doused her with cod liver oil....UGHHHHH. But it was mom's care that made her perfectly healthy. She was a happy person, fun loving, people loving, gregarious girl. Then came Barbara. What can I say, she was perfect, talented, theatrical, smart in school. Then 6 years later came me. "The Baby". Hated the title then, but didn't mind later on in life. Eleanor was my major care giver. The mix was wonderful, although Dick would torture mom. What a bebe he was, all his life.

One day, he was at mom for something for about 3 hours. She was cooking cleaning, cleaning lunch dishes, starting dinner, mopping floors, and being the oldest she expected him to help, but he never did. She got so frustrated with him, she threw that mop thru 2 rooms, like a javalin, and hit Dick in the back of the head with it. He was out cold for about a minute. Mom would go into the kitchen and cry, usually talking to herself and feeling awful. Dick was relentless and very spoiled.

There was an incident with Esther at the dinner table some time later. They were all teenagers, and I was only 4 or 5 at the time. Mom still doated on her, But Esther would find a new way to eat every nite.
This particular nite she was rolling peas down her knife into her mouth. Mom told her to stop 3 times until she threw a fork at her. Amazingly enough, it stuck in her forehead. We all laughed, including Esther. Mom took another trip to the kitchen.

I do have many stories from childhood and will continue nexdt post tomorrow......I hope. I'm seeing my primary Dr. tomorrow and hopefully can convince her to get the tanks for my portable oxygen system.

Let's Backstep a Moment!

Grandmother Isabella had 3 children when in Italy which was Uncle Pipi, Mom, Irma, and Aunt Mickie. She had Aunt Ida and Lala, and Uncle Nini while in America. The Great Depression years must have been really hard for this family and my Mom. Growing up with not enough to live on or eat. I can't even imagine what it was like, but I know one thing for sure, everyone cared about everyone else, the family was the one thing always counted on and Grandmother was the glue that kept it all together. Except for the oldest, Aunt Mickie, who I believe was quite jealous of my mother, detached herself from the family, having an education in Italy the equivalent of a grade school teacher, she struck off on her own and met her husband, Uncle John. He was a kindly man but I always had the feeling he was German. I think he was a German prisoner of war that somehow wound up being transported to the US. In any event, he was warmly accepted and became part of the family. Unfortunately, Aunt Mickie could never have children, and I think that was one of the things that made her scarce around our house, except of course when we had "The Farm" which they would come , like everyone else, for the summer, and were welcome.

My mother could cook!!!! And the meals she cooked were astonishing. Daddy built the biggest BBQ Pit between the house and bungalow I've ever seen. He was the official BBQer. The fires were made with Oak and other woods I couldn't recognize. He would start them with a small aount of gasoline and a match. His tools were a huge 4 foot fork, spatula, tongs, knives, and red wine which he made in the basement of the house. Every thing got doused with it and it was delicious. We had a whole farm full of food and would eat the chickens, but Daddy had to trade with our neighbors for pork and beef because "we kids" would not eat our pets. But milk, butter, eggs, every kind of vegetable came from our garden, including all the herbs, basinigol, parsley, fennel, corn, escarole, lettuce, carrots, raddish, green beans. In our "Mud Room" hung salamis, pressutti, hams, provolone, pepperonis, potatoes, squash, zucini, yellow squash.

But before I tell you more about Mom's family, I have to backstep and tell you the story of my father. Daddy was born in 1919 here in the US, Long Island City, to be exact, which is part of the boro of Queens. I am so sad that I don't know more details, and now there is no one to ask and it makes me so very sad. But Daddy's father, Dominic DiMantova, I did not misspell this name, immigrated from the town of Mantova, Italy, just southwest of Venice to the US. Some how, he knew my mother's family in Italy and came to the US before Mom's family. I don't know what my father's mother's maiden name was or even what she looked like, but I do know, bcause my Mother told me, that my father's mother died in childbirth with him. I did know my grandfather, I was 16 years old when he died. We would visit him occassionally, and he looked exactly like my Father, only he had blonde hair and bright blue eyes. My Dad had black hair and brown eyes, which I quess were his mother's coloring. My grandfather was Dominic Joseph DiMantova, my father, Theodore Joseph DiMontova, and my brother Dick was named after grandfather, Dominic Anthony DiMontova. My father did try to please him but there was no pleasing his stepmother. She was a cold woman.

After Dad's mother died, grandfather DiMantova left him with an Irish family here in the States and went back to Italy to find another wife. He found a beautiful young girl named Rosenella. She was lame, and not considered a good catch because of her lameness. I think it was a club foot, but I'm not positive. I know she walked with a cane and wore those heavy black shoes. So grandfather brought her back to Long Island City where she had 6 children. She would never accept my father as part of their family and he struck off at a very young age on his own and by himself. Because of credit reasons, he changed the spelling of his last name, not to be confused with the step siblings and bad credit. My grandfather died in that same apartment that he brought his 2nd wife to all those years before. The only sibling I remember of Dad's was his half sister Aunt Mary. She was so very nice, we all loved her, but she had a very serious heart condition and died leaving 2 children and her husband Charlie who was also a great person.

Daddy had a difficult life, but he loved Mom and loved us kids. He was a Milk Man. I know that doesn't mean much today, but when I was growing up it was a terribly difficult job that started at 4am and ended around 2pm in the afternoon. He delivered dairy to all of Manhattan and the infamous Mulberry Street (Little Italy) where you could find anything Italian from food to fashion, furniture made in Italy, etc. Grandmotaher Isabella loved my father, and when he asked if he could marry Mom, she wept. So she bought my Mom that beautiful dress you see in the wedding picture of she and Dad and had a chuch wedding and small reception at home for them. It was during better times than the depression, but still quite hard times when the country was still breathing hard and trying to recover.

What a wonderful love story Mom and Dad were. My Dad was soooooo handsome and Mom was a true beauty. But it will have to wait till my next post.